Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), also known as Winter Depression, is a mood disorder where people who enjoy normal mental health for most of the year break down during the winter months and suffer from depressive symptoms. It’s believed to be related to a lack of light. Just imagine yourself living in the dead of winter in Edmonton, waking up in the dark, going to work all day and coming home in the dark. You’d take up meth too. And people get mad at Chris Pronger for demanding out.

There’s a little known strain of SAD which has a similar onset and produces the same depressive symptoms. This strain is known as Maple Leafs Syndrome (MLS) and begins in late November and early December. Early onset has been known to occur even earlier - sometimes as early as October 1st. Its inception coincides with mounting losses in the stats column, a lack of first round picks, and a dearth of talent.

A well-known treatment for SAD-MLS is copious amounts of booze. Unfortunately, it’s only Tuesday night and I’m sort of a semi-productive member of society. So if you’re feeling blue about the blue and white then you might want to read the following points. Sometimes finding a glimmer of hope is all that can keep you going.

As you might imagine, this was a very hard list to compile. So sometimes the points aren't so hopeful. Take a shot if you feel sad.

Just the second post and I'm beginning to wonder if this season will be too psychologically damaging for me to handle, especially if I need to write about it. Well, I last said I was a classic Leafs fan in the way that I experience the highs and lows and tonight's match-up really tested this means of "enjoying" the Leafs. When Ian White scored to make it 5-4 I let out an emphatic "yes!" Unfortunately, when Erik Cole responded I was in shambles. I thought I was going to cry. After that the finale was a foregone conclusion. I needed a shower to cleanse myself.

I've decided that in order to get through this rough spell, which encompasses the entire post-lockout, I can't dwell on the negatives. Therefore, I'm embarking on the first post in a series called Reasons To Keep Watching. This way I can shield myself from self-inflicting psychological damage and avoid moving to a country that watches soccer.

The first reason to keep watching the Leafs is the continued progression of Ian White.